


The Councillors

by YMR9



Category: RWBY
Genre: Actually it can be Post-V8, Councilwoman Hill, F/F, Flirting, General Schnee, Post-Volume 7 (RWBY), Pre-Relationship, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:14:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26282500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YMR9/pseuds/YMR9
Summary: “I need you to tell me if I ever do or say anything that could be harmful to Mantle. In fact, I need you to stop me.”Robyn chuckled. “You’ve been doing fine. I don’t think you need my help.”“Please,” Winter's voice that came out almost sounded like a plea. “I don’t want to make any mistakes.”--ORWinter, the new General, asks for help to keep her grounded.
Relationships: Robyn Hill/Winter Schnee
Comments: 35
Kudos: 80





	The Councillors

Atlas at night had always been stunning. Even though half of the Kingdom was under construction at the moment, it still was. Winter had been looking down at the scenery below for what felt like an hour. She had done this countless times in this office, but never like this, never as the General.

Her new working space was still very much Ironwood’s since most of his belongings remained present. The round room was large, towering over the whole continent to signify the power the General held. And that power was now Winter’s and it was terrifying.

Councilman Sleet, Councilwoman Camilla and Councilwoman Brown elected her to replace General Ironwood with no objection from the citizens after her former director was ousted. From her experience with Ironwood, she knew the days of making hard choices were ahead of her. But making hard choices was not what she was afraid of. She was afraid of making wrong choices.

It was one of the reasons she asked Robyn Hill to meet her here tonight, and she was currently waiting for her in front of this window, contemplating about nothing and everything.

A knock on the door interrupted her train of thought, but it was welcome. Robyn was slightly ahead of time, another sign that Winter could count on her.

“Please come in,” Winter said and hoped that her voice reached across the room to the door.

Robyn walked in with her hands tucked in her coat. Her steps were unsure and so was her expression, which was understandable, given her history with Atlas’ authorities.

“Miss Hill,” Winter greeted, choosing not to use more words.

“Miss Schnee,” Robyn replied in the same manner.

“Thank you for coming here,” Winter said and gestured to a chair in front of Ironwood’s desk... her desk. “Would you like to sit?”

“Standing is fine. I mean, the view must be nice,” the Mantler said casually and joined Winter in front of the window. She added after gazing down below. “Wow, this is cool.”

Robyn was never one to keep things too formal, Winter learned that from the dinner party at the Schnee Manor, and somehow her mannerism relieved the tension they had a moment earlier.

Winter decided to get to the point.

“How’s Mantle doing?”

“There’s still a lot to rebuild and the shelters are still crammed, but at least you guys sent supplies and reinforcements this time,” the blonde said and casted a glance at Winter. “Thanks, by the way.”

“Of course,” Winter replied, her lips quirking up into a smile that lasted only a second. She then asked the most important question of the night. “I asked you to come here because we were wondering if you’d like to help Mantle more than you already have been doing.”

Robyn swiftly turned to face her fully. Her eyes narrowed with curiosity.

“What are you suggesting, Miss Schnee?”

“We’re offering you a seat in the Council,” Winter said without missing a beat.

“I thought that seat was taken.”

“It’s true that the seat that my fa-... that Jacques Schnee took was given to Miss Ivy Brown after Jacques was arrested and after martial law was declared, but there is another position available now.”

The Happy Huntress only took a few seconds to figure out what Winter meant before her eyes widened.

“The Headmaster of Atlas Academy.”

“Yes. We would like you to take the role, which you would, of course, have a say as a Council member regarding all matters concerning Mantle, Atlas and Solitas,” Winter explained and added. “But we would understand if this isn’t what you’re interested in and if you’d like to wait another four years for another Council member election.”

“No, I’ll take it,” Robyn replied right away.

“Are you sure?” Winter asked with concern. “I know you don't have any experience in the field.”

“I can learn, okay?” the taller woman said firmly. “I want to help my hometown and that can’t wait. Besides, taking care of the Academy will help in a way too, like I can make sure those kids won’t become pricks in the future.”

The P word almost made Winter cringe, but at least she knew that Robyn would take her new job seriously.

“Then the position is yours,” Winter replied and added thoughtfully. “Headmistress Hill.”

“That has a nice ring to it,” the blonde said and smirked. She then asked while narrowing her eyes at Winter. “So what, you’re my boss now?”

“We are all equal in this Council, Miss Hill,” Winter said surely. “I know it might not seem that way in the past…”

Robyn scoffed. “Tell me about it.”

Winter continued as if she was not interrupted. “...but we intend to change, which is why I have another request for you.”

“What is it?”

Winter was relieved that her official proposition for Robyn went well, but her next question was quite off the books and it made her nervous to ask.

She said after taking a deep breath. “Having so much authority can make you lose sight of things. You saw what happened to Ironwood and how his choices took their toll on all of us, especially the people in Mantle. I don’t… wish for that to happen again.”

“How can I help?” Robyn asked and her voice was full with enthusiasm.

“I need you to tell me if I ever do or say anything that could be harmful to Mantle. In fact, I need you to stop me.”

The blonde chuckled. “You’ve been doing fine. I don’t think you need my help.”

Winter instantly turned to face the taller woman.

“Please,” her voice that came out almost sounded like a plea. “I don’t want to make any mistakes.”

Robyn smiled at her and nodded. “You’ve got it.”

The new Headmistress reached her hand out. Winter initially thought she would use her Semblance on her to test her sincerity, but they only shook their hands briefly.

“Thank you,” Winter said.

“Sure thing,” Robyn said and motioned to the door. “If there’s nothing else to discuss, I’m gonna head home.”

“Of course,” Winter noted and led the taller woman to the door.

“Good night, General,” Robyn said and the word ‘General’ suddenly sounded less bizarre to Winter.

“Goodnight, Headmistress,” Winter replied.

She allowed herself to fully smile at her new colleague. It was a new era after all.

After Robyn left, she walked back to the curved window, her smile remaining and she was not afraid anymore.

Two months had passed and Winter had been busy juggling her duties as a General, a Councilwoman and a Headmistress while they were waiting for Robyn to be ready for the job. The task was difficult and she had no idea how her former boss handled it for so long. Luckily, she did not have to find out about that because Robyn’s first day as the Headmistress of Atlas Academy finally arrived.

Winter, along with Councilman Sleet, Councilwoman Camilla and Councilwoman Brown, gathered in the school’s Great Hall to wait for Robyn’s speech. They were fortunate that the new Headmistress could be here since many parents in Atlas were against their choice to pick Robyn at first, but the Mantler woman was very well-received by the citizens of her hometown and the younger demographics in Atlas.

Robyn kept her promise to Winter as well by giving her advice about everything that concerned Mantle. She had told Winter various stories about the city below and even suggested her sightseeing places and good places to dine. They grew closer and Winter considered her a friend, which was why she had been looking forward to seeing her on the stage today.

The hall was packed with students in their usual white and grey uniform, and it did not take long until Robyn walked up to the podium. The blonde was in a three-piece suit today with her hair down. She looked great, not that she did not look great before, not that Winter often thought about how great she looked.

Winter swallowed and told herself to focus on what Robyn was going to say.

“Good morning, students. Thank you for being here today,” the Headmistress started. “My name is Robyn Hill and I’m your new Headmistress.”

“Yasss!” Neon Katt cheered and a few people joined it.

“Thank you,” Robyn acknowledged the supporters and added. “I can tell that we all are going to get along, starting by me keeping this speech short so you can go to class or finish copying your friends’ homework before the bell rings.”

The young Huntsmen and Huntresses collectively laughed and Winter smiled.

“I’m going to tell you about a few changes I’m going to make,” Robyn continued and paused to make sure everyone was paying full attention. “The ten full scholarships that were annually granted to any students in Solitas will be guaranteed that five of them will go to students in Mantle, and five will go to students in Atlas.”

The students started their discussion right away while Winter nodded at the Headmistress to show her support. When she turned to her fellow Councillors, they seemed satisfied with Robyn’s idea as well.

“And one last thing,” the blonde said and the room was quiet again. “Starting from tomorrow, you are no longer required to wear your uniform and I will also personally demonstrate that. That’s all. Have a good day, everyone.”

_What?!_ Winter thought with her eyes widened.

Then the scene turned into chaos, and Winter had never witnessed students at the Academy being this disorganized. Not only they cheered, they also screamed, jumped, held on to one another or lifted each other up.

Winter observed the surroundings and she thought that maybe Robyn made the right decision. She turned to the three Councillors who were still in shock.

“Dear Lords,” Camilla exclaimed.

“What do you think, Miss Schnee?” Sleet asked.

“The kids seem happy, so I have to agree with this,” Winter replied.

The man took a deep breath and exhaled, but he eventually nodded. He then left with the Councilwomen, possibly back to their respective offices.

After that, Winter spotted Robyn walking towards her after most of the students finally left for classes. With the disorderliness that was going on, Winter did not even notice when Robyn got off the stage.

The blonde looked like she was very proud of herself, but that was just her in her natural state.

“Robyn,” Winter greeted curtly when her friend was in front of her.

“Winter,” the Headmistress greeted back.

“Great speech,” Winter remarked.

“Really?” Robyn asked and wiggled an eyebrow at her. “I could see you squirming when I revoked the uniform rule.”

The taller woman seemed to be enjoying this too much, so Winter called her out. “Why does it feel like you announced that just to see me… squirm?”

“Maybe I did,” Robyn said with a grin, which somehow caused a funny feeling in Winter’s stomach.

They had been having this back-and-forth form of flirting so often recently, at least it was flirting by Winter’s interpretation, and it always ended with Winter being a flustered mess.

She cleared her throat and reminded herself that there was a business matter she had to inform the other woman first.

She said. “Well, that took all of us by surprise, so I would appreciate it if you tell the Council before making big changes like this.”

Robyn’s expression swiftly changed into a serious one. Her brows creased.

“I thought I had full authority to amend the school’s rules.”

“You do,” Winter assured her. “We only need you to inform us ahead of time next time is all.”

“Man, I guess I still have a lot to learn about being a Councilwoman.”

“It’s okay. This is new for me too,” Winter said softly. “But I suppose being Ironwood’s right hand for so long helps me adjust quickly.”

“Maybe you can give me some pointers?”

“I'd be more than happy to,” Winter confirmed with a smile.

Immediately, Robyn’s grin returned.

“Maybe… we can do that over dinner?” the blonde said and stepped closer. She was not in Winter’s personal space, but it was enough for Winter’s breath to hitch. “And by dinner, I mean some place nice, just the two of us.”

Winter ducked her head to hide her blush that was certainly creeping up on her cheeks. She gathered herself and gave Robyn an answer.

“I’ll think about it.”

The taller woman seemed surprised by her answer, so Winter pushed on.

“You thought I would say yes, didn’t you?”

Suddenly, Robyn looked at her in amazement, so Winter gave her a teasing smirk and instantly turned around.

Robyn made her lose her composure again, in public, no less, so she would have to wait a little longer until Winter agreed to go out with her. It could be a week or a day, she had not decided yet. What she knew for sure was that it was nice to leave their conversation without being a complete mess for once.

Her hands clasped behind her back as she headed to the hall’s exit, her heart feeling satisfied with her small revenge.

**Author's Note:**

> Robyn's brain in the last scene: "Pls WiNtEr please step on me pwweeeeease!111!11!!!"
> 
> And yeah, I bet, realistically, they're probably not allowed to date when they're both in the Council, but let's pretend it's okay here. 👉👈😬
> 
> And let's manifest for General Schnee / Headmistress Hill 2K21. 🙏🙏🙏


End file.
